A Family By Chance
by Thoroughly Blue
Summary: Severus Snape has come to terms with the fact that he will never be with Lily Evans, and must now watch over James Potter's child. So what happens when Severus is transported to a world where Harry is a Snape, not a Potter? What about when has to return?


**A/N:** Well, I've started another story. This idea just wouldn't leave me alone. Right now, I actually have a lot of ideas for this story, so I hopefully should update more often than on Broken Dreams. Obviously, I have taken quite a few liberties with the Harry Potter plot. I hadn't read any stories following this idea, so I think it's pretty original. Certain aspects have been done before, but not the whole idea (at least to my knowledge).

**Summary:** Severus Snape has come to terms with the fact that he would never be with Lily Evans, and now has to watch over the child she had with James Potter. So what happens when Severus is transported to a world where Harry is a Snape, not a Potter? And what will happen when he is forced to return to his own world? AU Disregards HBP & DH

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape or form. Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling & Warner Bros. I am making no profit from this story.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

**NOTE: **I borrowed the idea for this sort of quote set up from Macvanaly, so all credit goes to her

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**A Family by Chance**

**Chapter One**

(Fortune can, for her pleasure, fools advance,  
And toss them on) The Wheels of Chance.

-Juvenal_ (55 AD - 127 AD)_

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Severus Snape was a bitter man. He had fallen in love with a fiery redhead with emerald green eyes, only to have that same woman marry his most hated rival. Still, he had turned spy against the Dark Lord for her, and had even begged him to spare her life.

But all was for naught. The woman, Lily Evans Potter, was killed, along with her husband James. Only their son survived. The young boy with Lily's bright eyes and James' messy hair was branded the 'Boy-Who-Lived', and it became Severus' duty to watch over him.

When Harry Potter first entered Hogwarts, Severus was well prepared for a mini-James Potter. What he did not expect was to be bombarded with images of Lily: Lily laughing, talking with friends, smiling on their graduation day. And finally he saw Lily's face, an expression of defiance frozen on her face even in death.

Snape knew that he could never see the boy as the son of James Potter. All he saw were those bright emerald eyes…Lily's eyes. But at the same time, he knew that he had to treat the boy with the same scorn he would afford to any other Gryffindor. The years went by swiftly, and it became even easier to fake hatred for Lily's boy.

It was all for the best, he told himself. With the number of Death Eater's children at Hogwarts, it would not do for Snape to be seen coddling the Boy-Who-Lived. Especially when the Dark Lord returned, as Dumbledore suspected he would.

Which was exactly the reason the Potions Master was at this moment walking towards the dungeons. The sixth years were due to arrive for NEWT Potions soon, and it would not do for their Professor to be late.

'No, that would not do at all,' Snape thought darkly to himself. 'My control over those mongrel Gryffindors is tenuous at best already.'

The dark-haired man strode into the dungeons and waved his wand absentmindedly. Instructions for the day's assignment, the Draught of Living Death, appeared on the board.

'And now for yet another class of incompetent dunderheads who would be incapable of brewing a satisfactory potion even if their life depended on it,' the Potions Master thought with a long-suffering sigh.

'Why Albus insists on keeping Gryffindor and Slytherin in the same classes, I'll never know. Even a fool can see that it would take a miracle to make them get along.' Snape shook his head and turned his attentions to the class as the last few stragglers took their seats.

"Today you will be attempting to make the Draught of Living Death. This potion has a rather infamous reputation…Can anyone tell me why?" Snape said silkily.

Severus sighed inwardly as Hermione Granger's hand flew into the air. 'Must she be such an insufferable know-it-all? I might have a bit more respect for her intelligence if she wasn't shoving her intellect in others' faces all the time.' Snape sneered at the girl. 'Then again, as she is a Gryffindor, probably not.'

"Could anyone _besides_ Miss Granger provide the answer? After all, her ego is surely bloated enough without me adding to it." Snape drawled.

His Slytherins smirked at the comment, and Granger lowered her hand, looking hurt. Potter and Weasley looked outraged. Severus suppressed a twinge at seeing those furious emerald eyes. He raised an eyebrow. No one else raised their hand.

"No one? And you are supposed to be NEWT Potions students. I must say, I am quite…unimpressed." Snape shot a glance at his Slytherins, who shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Hermione had the answer! You're just too much of an evil git to ever call on her!"

Severus turned slowly towards the source of the outburst. If he was the type of man to roll his eyes, he would have.

"Of _course_ Potter would be the one to disrupt class when it has not even been _five_ minutes." He thought. Potter stood red-faced at his seat, Granger trying desperately to pull him back down.

"Mr. Potter…A week's worth of detention for your insolence. And twenty points from Gryffindor for not knowing the answer yourself. Now _sit down_." Severus turned away quickly, not wanting to see Lily's eyes looking at him in anger yet again.

"For your information, Potter, the Draught of Living Death gained its notoriety because it was used during the Dark Lord's First Rise by his Death Eaters. It is a sleeping potion so powerful, the drinker often never awakens. As such, I will be unable to have you test your potions once you are finished…unfortunately." Snape sneered at the single Hufflepuff in the class, who gave an audible sigh of relief at his words.

"All materials needed to complete this potion are in the student stores." No one moved. "_Well?_ What are you waiting for? There was an immediate rush towards the supply cabinet. Severus rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a migraine coming on.

The dungeon room quickly filled with the hiss and bubble of steaming cauldrons. The Potions Master walked around the room, finally stopping by Potter's cauldron. Looking down, he grimaced. At this stage, the potion should have been a deep purple. Instead, it was a violent orange and smelt faintly of lawn clippings.

"It would seem, Mr. Potter, that you are incapable of following directions. Judging by this disaster you call a potion, you neglected to add the valerian root at the correct temperature. That will be a zero for today's assignment. _Evanesco_." Snape said silkily, vanishing Potter's potion with a simple wave of his wand.

"What!" Potter leapt to his feet, knocking Weasley's roots into his acid green concoction. The whole mess began to crackle ominously. Severus opened his mouth to vanish the ruined potion when the cauldron exploded, splattering all over Snape, Potter, and Granger.

Potter and Granger groaned in disgust, shaking their arms to get rid of the goop. Weasley just stared at his professor in shock.

Severus swayed on his feet, his thoughts dazed. His mouth tasted sweet, almost like he had just eaten chocolate. 'But that couldn't be right,' he thought, 'The only thing I swallowed was the bit of Weasley's potion that flew in my mouth…' Snape's scrambled thoughts tried to lock on to the reason for the growing feeling of anxiety and horror in his gut. But try as he might, his mind was too jumbled to figure out just why it was so bad that he had swallowed an unknown potion.

Severus vaguely heard the concerned voices of Potter and his friends as the world faded to black around him.

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"Severus, can you hear me?"

Severus groaned and opened his eyes, blinking as the white walls of the Hospital Wing came into focus.

"Ah, I see you're awake my dear boy. I must say you gave us quite a scare when you collapsed like that. And in the middle of a lesson! Your students were quite startled." The face of Albus Dumbledore came into view.

Severus gave snorted derisively. "Yes, I'm sure they were quite concerned on my behalf."

Albus smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Well, perhaps they were a bit excited at the prospect of Potions classes being cancelled for a week, but you had your son quite worried."

"A week!? You mean to tell me I've been unconscious for- wait, did you say my _son_!?" Severus said in shock.

Before Dumbledore had a chance to answer, there was the squeak of a door opening. Severus turned towards the noise, only to be greeted with a pair of very familiar emerald green eyes.

"Dad?"

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**A/N: **Well, I hope you liked it. I would appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism. I especially want to hear if people would like me to continue. This is about the average length for a chapter, so sorry if people think it's short. I don't have the time to write more. Please read & review!


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